Denmark’s global engineering consultant Cowi has appointed Jens Højgaard Christoffersen, 53, as group chief executive, effective 1 October, following the decision of current CEO, Lars-Peter Søbye, to step down.
Currently chief business development officer, Christoffersen will be “given the overall reins of a company geared for global growth”, Cowi said.
Lars-Peter Søbye has been Cowi’s group CEO for the past 14 years. He plans to focus on a career as professional board member and spend more time with his family.
For the next year, he will act as executive advisor and conclude “select outstanding issues” in the business, Cowi said.
“Like they say, you need to stop while the going is good, and that’s now, in my case,” Søbye said. “We’ve launched a new strategy, which has been embraced by our employees and customers.”
Cowi board chairman Jukka Pertola said Christoffersen was “a visionary and customer-oriented Cowi man to the backbone”.
Saying he was “deeply humbled” by the appointment, Christoffersen cast his role as helping customers “navigate the green transition”.
Christoffersen joined Cowi in 1995 and has been a member of the executive board since January 2020.
